Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Why so serious?

I don’t know if I am giving anything away or not, so let me start by saying Rogue One was probably my 4th or 5th favorite film of the year. The opening provides the old time Star Wars feel. The film hits all the right notes, especially for fans of the series and those who know when the film is supposed to take place. It gives the movie goer what he or she should expect from a Star Wars film. Even so, it somehow feels empty.

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! Joins us after the break if you want to keep reading.

Maybe it’s the music.The score flirts with the famous music of the old Star Wars, but it never grabs you by the heart and moves you forward. Where is the “Imperial March,” which even if it is for the bad guy is so inspiring? Where’s the fanfare? Where’s the triumph? Where’s the instrumental tour de force that causes you to leap out of your seat with excitement? Not here.

Maybe it’s the lack of bravado.No Han Solo, no Poe Dameron, no bravado. These guys are pilots who are damn good at what they do and they have fun doing it. They trust to luck and wits to get the job done and they succeed. Rogue One is seriously lacking the fun.

Maybe it’s the extremism.An extreme religious guy who says he’s not a Jedi. An extreme rebel who kills out of hand for the cause, and yes, he is a main character. An extreme rebel who is so extreme he has left the Rebel Alliance; he also happens to be a little paranoid and likes to turn people’s brains to mush, except the one person that he applies this method to actually regains his mind.

Maybe it’s the story.The story is straight from the original trilogy and the remark about what the Rebel Alliance had to go through to get the plans to the Death Star. It ties in perfectly and has the right cameos including bad assery from Darth Vader himself. It’s just that for all the talk of hope, this movie sorely lacks it. Which is, considering that this is a story of success in the midst of failure where a no win gambit at least gets the information out, probably to be expected.​Fortunately, the Star Wars galaxy is large enough to contain many different stories with different tones. However, if you liked the Star Wars series because people are flying fast and playing it loose and confident, Rogue One isn’t that type of movie. This one happened to be gritty, dark and lacking in comic relief that was truly funny. It’s a decent film; it’s not a billion dollar film unless Trumperdink’s followers turn it into one.